Beef and Butternut Stew

It is soup season here on the blog!!  Here's one more since I know you're in the mood for more soup tonight.  This recipe came from from Mickey Trescott's Autoimmune Paleo cookbook (with minor adaptations).  I must say I LOVE everything out of her cookbook and would recommend it to anyone trying to eat a whole food diet!  This stew is so yummy I usually don't have as much left over as I think I should.  Something about the pear with the squash and cinnamon is just a really fun flavor combination.  This soup also freezes well if you like to make things ahead.  Enjoy!

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2-3 pounds cubed stew meat
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cups bone broth (you can use beef broth if you don't make your own bone broth)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 pears, cubed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 pears, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot on medium high heat and brown the meat on all sides.  Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.  Turn the heat down to medium.
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook another couple of minutes, stirring to ensure they don't burn.  Add the bone broth or stock and the browned meat back to the pot, and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes, making sure the pot simmers gently.
Add the squash, cinnamon and sea salt, and simmer another 15 minutes.  Add the pears and simmer a few more minutes until the meat and squash are both tender (this depends on how big your squash chunks are.  Keep an eye on it so you don't over cook them and turn them to mush).
Serve garnished with the fresh thyme.